This paper sheds light on key innovation patterns and constraints within a selected set of developing East Asian countries (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam).
... Exibir mais + It follows a comprehensive approach about national innovation systems while highlighting the supply and demand dimensions of innovation as well as the markets where firms make accumulation decisions for different forms of capital (knowledge capital, human capital. and physical capital). The paper presents a set of empirical exercises drawing from various data sets. The results corroborate the idea of the importance of adopting a broad view of innovation policy and investing in missing complementary factors. Although investment in research and development is key to boost innovation, it is also crucial to have business and regulatory environments that are conducive to overall firm performance and capital accumulation (not only knowledge capital), as they are expected to improve innovation returns. In addition, the results suggest that other innovation inputs aside from research and development matter for innovation activities, such as training for innovative activities, acquisition/licensing of technology, and managerial practices.
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Economic growth remains strong, driven primarily by robust expansion in consumption and exports. Domestic demand has been boosted by higher wage growth and larger public investments, with fiscal expansion serving as stimulus.
... Exibir mais + Public outlays were budgeted to increase to 24.6 percent of GDP in 2018 from 23.1 percent in 2017. At the same time, strong external demand has boosted exports of garment and footwear products, which increased 16.1 percent (y/y) during the first half of 2018 - a two year high—from 8.3 percent at the end of 2017. Tourist arrivals reached 3 million during the first six months of 2018, a 13.6 percent increase (y/y), compared with 11.8 percent in 2017, driven by a surge in tourist arrivals by air from China. Capital inflows, mainly comprising foreign direct investment (FDI) continue to increase, underpinning Cambodia's stable external position. Official data showed rising FDI to the manufacturing sector, especially the textile, apparel, and footwear industries, and to agroprocessing. Vibrant construction activity continues to be financed by rising FDI inflows and domestic credit. FDI is estimated to have increased by 14.3 percent (y/y) during the first six months of 2018. About 90 percent of the inflows (excluding those to the financial sector) have originated from China and are directed toward the construction and real estate, agriculture and agroprocessing, and garment sectors. A growing proportion of FDI is now invested in the productive sectors, namely the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, albeit its share remains relatively small at about 20 percent of total inflows.
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Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 covers 11 areas of business regulation.
... Exibir mais + Ten of these areas - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency - are included in the ease of doing business score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. Doing Business provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. This economy profile presents indicators for Cambodia; for 2019 Cambodia ranks 138.
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The World Bank prepared three background studies as inputs for the development of the Cambodia Logistics Master Plan led by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in 2017–2018.
... Exibir mais + These studies benefit from a close coordination and collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that focused its assessment on transport infrastructure and connectivity. The key findings and recommendations are summarized into four parts in respect of the three background studies: (a) an update of trade competitiveness, (b) a review of the legal and regulatory framework of the logistics sector in Cambodia, and (c) a design of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the proposed Cambodia Logistics Master Plan.
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The World Bank prepared three background studies as inputs for the development of the Cambodia Logistics Master Plan led by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in 2017–2018.
... Exibir mais + These studies benefit from a close coordination and collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that focused its assessment on transport infrastructure and connectivity. The key findings and recommendations are summarized into four parts in respect of the three background studies: (a) an update of trade competitiveness, (b) a review of the legal and regulatory framework of the logistics sector in Cambodia, and (c) a design of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the proposed Cambodia Logistics Master Plan.
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Economic growth remains strong, driven primarily by robust expansion in consumption and exports. Domestic demand has been boosted by higher wage growth and larger public investments, with fiscal expansion serving as stimulus.
... Exibir mais + Public outlays were budgeted to increase to 24.6 percent of GDP in 2018 from 23.1 percent in 2017. At the same time, strong external demand has boosted exports of garment and footwear products, which increased 16.1 percent (y/y) during the first half of 2018 - a two year high—from 8.3 percent at the end of 2017. Tourist arrivals reached 3 million during the first six months of 2018, a 13.6 percent increase (y/y), compared with 11.8 percent in 2017, driven by a surge in tourist arrivals by air from China. Capital inflows, mainly comprising foreign direct investment (FDI) continue to increase, underpinning Cambodia's stable external position. Official data showed rising FDI to the manufacturing sector, especially the textile, apparel, and footwear industries, and to agroprocessing. Vibrant construction activity continues to be financed by rising FDI inflows and domestic credit. FDI is estimated to have increased by 14.3 percent (y/y) during the first six months of 2018. About 90 percent of the inflows (excluding those to the financial sector) have originated from China and are directed toward the construction and real estate, agriculture and agroprocessing, and garment sectors. A growing proportion of FDI is now invested in the productive sectors, namely the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, albeit its share remains relatively small at about 20 percent of total inflows.
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This paper reports on a randomized experiment to investigate the long-term effects of a primary school scholarship program in rural Cambodia. In 2008, fourth-grade students in 207 randomly assigned schools (103 treatment, 104 control) received scholarships based on the students' academic performance in math and language or their level of poverty.
... Exibir mais + Three years after the program's inception, an evaluation showed that both types of scholarship recipients had more schooling than nonrecipients; however, only merit-based scholarships led to improvements in cognitive skills. This new study reports impacts, nine years after program inception, on the educational attainment, cognitive skills, socioemotional outcomes, socioeconomic status and well-being, and labor market outcomes of individuals who are, on average, 21 years old. The results show that both types of scholarships led to higher long-term educational attainment (about 0.21-0.29 grade level), but only merit-based scholarships led to improvements in cognitive skills (0.11 standard deviation), greater self-reported well-being (0.18 standard deviation), and employment probability (3.4 percentage points). Neither type of scholarship increased socioemotional skills. The results also suggest that there are labeling effects: the impacts of the scholarship types differ even for individuals with similar characteristics.
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Urbanization in Cambodia offers the potential for inclusive growth and poverty reduction. The proportion of people living in cities is on the rise, and many of the drivers of growth for the country are urban based industries such as manufacturing, tourism, and trade.
... Exibir mais + This creates an important opportunity for the country, as the decisions made today will affect the urbanization process in significant ways for decades to come. This report aims to help inform urbanization policy in Cambodia, understand the economic potential of cities, key constraints to realizing that potential, and develop a strategic approach for improving urban growth and resilience in those cities. The report includes three sections, i) an introduction to patterns of urbanization and the economic potential of cities in Urbanization; ii) analysis of key challenges; and iii) policy and program options for achieving the full potential of urbanization.
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Urbanization in Cambodia offers the potential for inclusive growth and poverty reduction. The proportion of people living in cities is on the rise, and many of the drivers of growth for the country are urban based industries such as manufacturing, tourism, and trade.
... Exibir mais + This creates an important opportunity for the country, as the decisions made today will affect the urbanization process in significant ways for decades to come. This report aims to help inform urbanization policy in Cambodia, understand the economic potential of cities, key constraints to realizing that potential, and develop a strategic approach for improving urban growth and resilience in those cities. The report includes three sections, i) an introduction to patterns of urbanization and the economic potential of cities in Urbanization; ii) analysis of key challenges; and iii) policy and program options for achieving the full potential of urbanization.
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Substantial work has demonstrated that early nutrition and home environments, including the degree to which children receive cognitive stimulation and emotional support from parents, play a profound role in influencing early childhood development.
... Exibir mais + Yet, less work has documented the joint influences of parenting and nutrition status on child development among children in the preschool years living in low-income countries. Using panel data on parenting, nutrition status, and early developmental outcomes of about 7,000 Cambodian preschool-age children, this paper demonstrates that inequities in early development associated with family wealth are evident at the start of preschool and increase over time. A significant share of these inequalities can be explained by differences in parental stimulation and early nutrition status. Better educated parents engage in better parental activities that stimulate children's development. However, the positive association between parental activities and child outcomes is particularly strong for non-stunted children, and parental activities can only explain about 8-14 percent of the cognitive gap between the lowest and highest wealth quintiles. The results highlight the need for integrated interventions that address both parenting and early nutrition, also suggesting that parenting interventions for the most disadvantaged families should be carefully designed and evaluated to ensure maximum effectiveness.
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Entrepreneurship is multi-faceted, with a range of factors influencing the success of growth-oriented enterprises. A well-functioning entrepreneurship ecosystem includes six pillars: skilled human capital,well-functioning markets, an encouraging policy environment, availability of financing, anentrepreneurship-friendly culture, and supportive entrepreneurship organizations and networks.
... Exibir mais + This policy note responds to a request from the government to assess the current state of Cambodia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and to identify deficiencies that are holding back the success of domestic enterprises. The note assesses Cambodia’s performance across the six pillars of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Given the important role that innovation plays in entrepreneurial outcomes, this note also includes a brief analysis of Cambodia’s national innovation system. The note provides recommendations for how the Cambodian government can use policy to create amore robust system of support for these domestic enterprises and the entrepreneurs who establishand manage them. Given Cambodia’s struggle with the missing middle of enterprises, this note focuses particularly on policies to encourage thetypes of dynamic small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) that grow quickly and can have a potentially transformational effect on the economy. To provide some useful lessons on improving support for entrepreneurship, the note also includes international examples from countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, that started with a similar profile of FDI-led development and, over time, have successfully putin place the conditions necessary to nurture and grow a dynamic domestic private sector.
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While Cambodia has achieved stellar growth and poverty reduction over the last two decades, the next wave of growth is anticipated to come from increasing value-added as well as nurturing new sectors such as the Digital Economy.
... Exibir mais + Over the past two decades, facilitated by preferential trade treatment and strong foreign direct investment inflows, growth and job creation have been taking place in activities with relatively limited value added, such as garment manufacturing, rice cropping, and construction. In recent years, Cambodian authorities have issued several policy documents relevant to digital development. Overall, the objectives and high-level program goals are generally consistent with international good practice, and envisage partnerships between the Government and the private sector at multiple levels. The Rectangular Strategy Phase III 2013-2018 highlights the need to further develop e-Government and encourage the private sector to invest in technology. This was followed in 2014 by the approval of the Cambodia ICT Master Plan 2020 which aims to improve ICT industry and human resources development, internet connectivity, cybersecurity, and government e-services—and in 2016 by the Telecoms and ICT Policy which outlines policy measures and associated targets to expand ICT infrastructure and develop ICT human capacity. In addition, a draft Cambodia e-Government Master Plan 2017-2022 has been drafted, although not yet adopted. The draft outlines programs to provide quality information and digital services, in collaboration with prospective beneficiaries; connect with people on public policies and decisions, in particular through social media; and increase government efficiency by establishing basic foundations for digital government (e.g. cloud, enterprise architecture, intensive staff capacity building) and a government portal on which ministries can host their services. Numerous institutions across Government are tasked with the implementation of these policies and strategies. This policy note responds to a request from the Royal Government of Cambodia for the World Bank to assess the current state of its Digital Economy and identify policies to further develop it.The Policy Note applies the analytical framework presented in the World Bank’s World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends, to identify challenges and suitable policy options, and it is intended to inform the preparation of the upcoming Rectangular Strategy Phase IV (2018—2023).
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Although Cambodia has become one of the world’s leaders in poverty reduction, two-thirds of its population remains poor or economically vulnerable, with a large number of households moving in and out of poverty.
... Exibir mais + Cambodian households are exposed to a range of shocks that can have devastating costs for the poor and vulnerable. Negative coping strategies to manage shocks can put poor or economically insecure households at risk of a return to or deepened poverty. Formal social protection in Cambodia is only incipient, with low levels of spending compared to other countries, particularly for social assistance. Most social protection spending in Cambodia goes toward retirement benefits for civil servants through the National Social Security Fund for Civil Servants (NSSF-C) and the National Fund for Veterans (NFV), neither of which have been contributory to date and are thus entirely funded through general revenues. Social assistance spending is much lower and comprises several small, fragmented programs. The Government has recently signaled its willingness to scale up social assistance through its approval of the National Social Protection Policy Framework (NSPPF), which lays out ambitious reforms. The NSPPF, approved in 2017, provides the framework for an integrated social protection system. Guidance will be provided by a National Social Protection Council (NSPC) under the overall direction of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), with distinct sub-bodies for social insurance and social assistance. This note presents policy options for ensuring the feasibility of the institutional and programmatic rollout of social assistance reforms envisaged in the NSPPF. To realize the goals of the NSPPF, a clear vision on prioritization and sequencing of SA reforms will be critical. The path from incipient and fragmented social assistance systems is one that has been trodden by many developing countries in recent years, and those experiences can provide important lessons for Cambodia in this process. This policy note draws from these lessons while taking into account Cambodia’s ongoing social assistance programs, institutional frameworks, and delivery systems. It utilizes the World Bank’s ASPIRE database, program documents, an assessment of Cambodia’s social assistance programs in the OECD’s 2017 Social Protection System Review of Cambodia, and country data.
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While the economy continues to expand rapidly in Cambodia, real GDP growth eased to 6.8percent in 2017 from 7 percent in 2016. Cambodia therefore bucked the regional trend, asmost developing countries in East Asia experienced a growth acceleration in 2017.
... Exibir mais + Followingsome moderation during the first half of 2017, textile and apparel exports rebounded. Thetourism and agriculture sectors experienced initial recovery in the last few years after facinggradual moderation. Growth is projected to remain robust, expanding at 6.9 percent in 2018.Downside risks to the outlook include erosion of export competitiveness due to rapidly risingreal wages, a buildup of vulnerabilities from a prolonged real estate and construction boom,potential election-related uncertainty, and periodic jolts to the international trade order inthe form of protectionism and escalating trade disputes. This edition of Cambodia economic update is focusing on findings of future jobs in Cambodia.
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While the economy continues to expand rapidly in Cambodia, real GDP growth eased to 6.8percent in 2017 from 7 percent in 2016. Cambodia therefore bucked the regional trend, asmost developing countries in East Asia experienced a growth acceleration in 2017.
... Exibir mais + Followingsome moderation during the first half of 2017, textile and apparel exports rebounded. Thetourism and agriculture sectors experienced initial recovery in the last few years after facinggradual moderation. Growth is projected to remain robust, expanding at 6.9 percent in 2018.Downside risks to the outlook include erosion of export competitiveness due to rapidly risingreal wages, a buildup of vulnerabilities from a prolonged real estate and construction boom,potential election-related uncertainty, and periodic jolts to the international trade order inthe form of protectionism and escalating trade disputes. This edition of Cambodia economic update is focusing on findings of future jobs in Cambodia.
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With a population of 15.8 million, Cambodia is one of Asia's fastest growing economies; its growth has averaged 7.6 percent a year over the past decade (higher than the regional average of 5.1 percent).
... Exibir mais + Upon halving its poverty rate in 2009, Cambodia achieved Millennium Development Goal 1. Moreover, in 2015, after 20 years of steady economic growth, Cambodia secured lower-middle-income status. Despite this notable achievement, 4.5 million people in Cambodia are still considered near-poor, with the country ranking 143rd on the United Nations Development Programme's 2016 Human Development Index. The Cambodian government is committed to expanding energy access throughout the country. With close to 79 percent of the Cambodian population residing in rural areas, through its surveys, the Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) team collected compelling data on energy access in urban and rural areas. Highlights of these abundant findings can be found in MTF's comprehensive Energy Access Country Diagnostic Report, which can be accessed on MTF’s country webpage: https://energydata.info/dataset/cambodia-multi-tier-framework-mtf-survey-2018
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Amret Co. is a leading microfinance institution in Cambodia serving micro, small and medium enterprises and low-to-middle income populations with a focus on rural areas, agriculture and district and provincial cities.
... Exibir mais + Amret was launched in 1991, and obtained a license to operate as a deposit-taking MFI in 2009. Today, it provides a wide range of loan and deposit services to Cambodia women, farmers, small businesses, and households across 25 provinces and 197 operating districts. In March 2014, IFC evaluated Amret’s governance capabilities. Even prior to IFC’s involvement, Amret’s board and executive leadership demonstrated their strong commitment and adherence to good governance beyond compliance with local regulations. The IFC evaluation aimed at helping Amret further enhance the board’s selectiveness, optimize management controls, improve disclosure policies and practices, and develop provisions on shareholder’s rights. Management advanced on its already impressionable CG improvement program by reinforcing governance practices and raising the bar to align with international standards. Authorities were better clarified between the Board and Management. Prior to IFC’s assessment, Amret established an Audit Committee, chaired by an independent director who was nominated by minority shareholders, which met 4 times annually to review internal and external audit functions and ensure compliance with local laws. Additionally, more independent directors with commercial banking, risk management, and local market experience were recruited to improve the Board’s composition and selectiveness of the committees. The company also went above and beyond to strengthen its internal control and risk management systems with the establishment of a Risk Oversight Committee which oversees four management committees that assess credit, operational, strategy, and asset & liability risks.Furthermore, the Board codified its CG policies, developed remuneration and evaluation procedures, and made an attempt to eliminate conflicts of interest with respect to related party transactions and procurement practices with technical vendors. With a strong CG foundation, Amret was a benchmark for other financial institutions in Cambodia and perceived as more transparent and investor-friendly. This culminated in receiving A- ratings from international rating agencies including MicroFinanza and MicroRate.
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Trade facilitation projects often assume indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders. Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, despite large trade facilitation investments.
... Exibir mais + This paper fills this gap, thanks to an innovative mix of original qualitative and quantitative data from various checkpoints on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam. The quantitative data, collected in 2014, consist of an exhaustive list of trade-related border crossings during two to three days and a survey of 158 randomly selected small-scale, cross-border traders and brokers. The paper combines qualitative data and statistical techniques to shed light on the structure of the small-scale, cross-border trade economy, traders' and brokers' profiles, the challenges they face, and potential solutions, with a particular emphasis on gender. Key challenges pertain to taxation and poor infrastructures. Narrow roads, insufficient parking space, and restrictive border regulations on transportation means cause traffic jams and delays. These disproportionately affect women, who are more time constrained. Despite a rather moderate tax pressure, widespread informal payments erode traders' and brokers' willingness to comply with taxes. Women suffer from a higher tax rate and a tax schedule that deters them from upgrading to more profitable cross-border trade activities. Along with capital constraints, this finding may explain the lower share of women in small-scale, cross-border trade than among own-account workers and the self-employed, as evidenced by nationally representative data. The paper delineates policy implications and puts forward concrete steps.
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Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... Exibir mais + This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Cambodia. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Cambodia ranks 135. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why.
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